AC Milan seem to have rekindled their interest in signing Franco Mastantuono from River Plate, and one of their rivals have gone cold on him.
According to Marca, Mastantuono is one of those players who for weeks and weeks was linked with Real Madrid and many other top European teams. His sudden emergence in the first team of River Plate at just 16 years old caught the attention of the European giants.
As soon as a player who stands out appears – especially in South America – Real Madrid tend to go for him. The Argentine was no exception, but the problem that all interested teams encountered was the abrupt change in the situation.
It went from the opportunity to sign a talented player in a low-cost deal to a contract extension which has seen his price rise a lot. With the renewal of the River Plate playmaker’s contract came a salary increase and a clause of €45m.
Last March, and while in full talks with different teams, the agents closed the renewal agreement with the Argentine side, with an extension that can last until 2027. Barcelona and Milan were fighting for his signing then too, or at least trying to lay the foundations for the operation.
They all disappeared and began to look at other options, but Marca add that Milan ‘seem to have come closer again’, but will not pay anything close to the €45m release clause. Real Madrid felt ‘betrayed’ by the renewal and have dropped out, so a door may have opened.
If we want a young attacking mid we should go for Nico Paz who’s doing amazing at Como.
Another issue: Non-EU players have to be 18 to officially transfer. It’s why we had to wait until January for Pato, even though we paid in the summer, and why Madrid had to wait a couple of seasons for Endrick (“signed” in December 2022, officially transferred in July 2024). So we’d be paying 45M now, to wait until August 2025 to sign him. I guess if we wanted to beat the competition, that’s what we’d need to do, but it’s highly unlikely this Milan would complete this transfer. Transfermarkt says his contract expires on Dec 31, 2026. For us to have a chance to sign him on a discount (less than 45M), we’d have to wait until at least January 2026, and more likely summer 2026, but by then someone will probably have triggered the clause.
If there’s a chance milan should grab it by the horns he’s good and mostly CAM true number 10
Hilarious that kids agent actually thought someone was gonna pay 45mil to bring an unproven, inexperienced gamble to Europe. Just hit the brakes on his career out of greed. Just like Zirkee
What happened to the defender we purchased last season from River plate?
I think everyone forgot him as a Milan player 🤣🤣🤣